Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Scientists at the European
Organization for Nuclear Research have narrowed the range where
the hypothetical “God particle” created at the beginning of
the universe may be found, closing in on evidence of its
existence.

The particle, also known as Higgs boson, most likely has a
mass in the region between 116 and 130 gigaelectronvolts of
energy being studied by one research team and between 115 and
127 gigaelectronvolts under observation by another team,
according to data presented today by the Geneva-based research
institute. Independent measurements point to a range of 124 to
126 gigaelectronvolts, researchers said.

The Higgs boson, named after U.K. physicist Peter Higgs, in
theory allows other particles to have mass. Finding the Higgs
boson could be a gateway to discovering new physics, such as
superparticles or dark matter, part of the universe’s building
material that went missing at the beginning of time. While the
scientists found “tantalizing hints” of the particle, it’s too
early to say whether it exists, the scientists said.

No Conclusions

“We cannot conclude anything at this stage,” said Fabiola
Gianotti, a spokeswoman for the institute’s ATLAS experiment,
one of the two research teams. “We need more study and more
data. We will not need to wait long for enough data and can look
forward to resolving this puzzle in 2012.”

Scientists at the research institute, also known as CERN,
are using the Large Hadron Collider, a 27-kilometer (17-mile)
circuit of magnets running under the French-Swiss border, to
smash beams of atomic particles and record the resulting
collisions. The researchers have been creating conditions as
close as possible to the so-called Big Bang that formed the
universe 13.7 billion years ago in their search for the Higgs
boson.

“Higgs bosons, if they exist, are very short-lived and can
decay in many different ways,” CERN said in a statement.
“Discovery relies on observing the particles they decay into,
rather than the Higgs itself.”

Both groups exclude a broad range of possible Higgs masses,
from 115 to 600 times the weight of a proton, Lawrence Sulak,
chairman emeritus of Boston University’s physics department,
said via e-mail.

Significant Hints

"The significance of the hints reported today could turn
into proof beyond a doubt come next October," Sulak said.

If the researchers don’t find the particle by the end of
next year, they will exclude its existence, Rolf-Dieter Heuer,
director-general of CERN, told reporters in Geneva in October.
Failing to find the Higgs boson would lend credibility to
alternate theories that explain the mechanism that allows
particles to have mass.

The results of further experiments will have implications
for theories on dark matter, which makes up about 23 percent of
the universe. Such research could help scientists gain a better
understanding of the universe and how galaxies hold together,
according to CERN.

CERN said in September that an experiment showed a neutrino
beam appears to have moved faster than the speed of light. The
finding, if confirmed, would contradict Albert Einstein, who
said nothing can exceed light speed.